Accompanied by a Corona Lite or Mojito, this is the perfect light book for a summer beach day.
Author Philip Margolin is an ex-criminal attorney who, like John Grisham, went the way of fiction to make millions and enjoy the law without the mundane parts. This is Margolin’s 14th novel, and it uses a number of characters from his 2006 best seller “Executive Privilege” to help solve crimes, bring some justice to the world and lay down a little punishment along the way. You don’t need to have read the prior book to figure out what’s going on here despite the numerous references to their prior collaboration. The book is much less about the judicial system or Supreme Court than the title or cover would lead the reader believe. But, then, you know the saying about a book’s cover …
The heavily plot driven story involves Sarah Woodruff, an Oregon cop, who’s on death row for murdering her lover, John Finley. Finley is (was), at various times, an import/export executive, a drug dealer, or a CIA operative. The triad of prior Margolin characters (Brad Miller – Supreme Court Law Clerk, Keith Evans – FBI, and Dana Cutler – Private Eye) get involved because Woodruff has filed a request for Supreme Court certiorari (cert for those in the law biz). This is a prisoner’s last chance for a review of their case and chance for a retrial. Without cert, its certain that Woodruff will be put to death. In Woodruff’s case, the basis upon which cert is sought involves a mysterious ship that was docked in a small town in Oregon 6 years earlier. That ship left several men dead. But the ship disappeared, along with a possible large cache of drugs on board, and therein lies the backbone of the story. Powerful people in Washington D.C. want to keep the ship’s existence and any evidence related to it a “state-secrets privilege,” meaning Woodruff can not use the ship’s connection to her case as a defense. Without that evidence, Woodruff is sure to face the gas chamber. You have puppet masters playing chess with real people while common folk with connections try to outwit and solve the mystery before it’s “too late.” This multi-layered situation results in some unscrupulous acts, legal maneuvering, detective work, assassination attempts and some killings. The author uses about 20 different characters in at least three different time periods to tell the story.
The danger and killing in the book are certainly not on par with one episode of Jack Bauer in “24,” but are still very entertaining. The multiple stories are woven together in a simplistic albeit an enjoyable way. The reader races side by side with the characters as they piece this puzzle together. There are no long scene descriptions or chapters devoted to character development. This is a quick-paced story that is driven through dialogue, some of which is rather uninspired. The book is 310 pages, broken into 65 chapters, many of which are short mini-cliffhangers that will have you saying to yourself, “One more chapter.” Easy stuff since many of those chapters are only 3 to 5 pages long. The multiple storylines get woven together like a 25 piece puzzle – in big chunks – which are wrapped up into a cohesive story with some twists.
The writing is easy to read, the story is plausible enough, the settings are interesting and there is enough mystery, suspense and thrill that I give “Supreme Justice” a B grade. It will take even the slowest of readers — like me — only a few days to finish, and you quickies will plow through it in a day. Don’t overanalyze or dissect the implausible parts and you will have enjoyable entertainment for your beach, pool or other vacation spot this summer.
This post originally appeared on my former blog, StyleSubstanceSoul.
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